The Masks We Wear
by ToTheEdgeOfTheWorld
Summary: Draco would prove himself to the world that had shunned him. He would gain the respect of his peers and become the best in his chosen field. He would become everything he knew he could. If he had to wear a mask to be able to achieve all that oh well. He was placed in Slytherin for a reason you know.
1. Chapter 1

**The Masks We Wear**

Chapter one

* * *

 _"Nothing is more real than the masks we make to show each other who we are."_  
 _― Christopher Barzak, The Love We Share Without Knowing_

* * *

He was done.

Done with the side glances and the utter contempt. He was done with how the world he grew up in, the world he loved, now hated and shunned his very presence.

The war was over. The graves had been dug and Hogwarts had been repaired. And with spring coming the whole caste seemed to be shimmering with newness and hope. The walls were filled to the brim with happy children with bright futures ahead.

Not for Draco though.

He had been a child too. He had only been seventeen when the war ended, yet his entire future had been ripped from his grasp! Old friends and acquaintances refused to visit, some even going to great lengths to dissociate themselves with the Malfoy name by slandering his name to the papers. The previous wealth and status that his family had held for centuries had been immediately stripped as soon as the Ministry got back on its feet and Draco was left with nothing… and no one.

His parents had hightailed it out of England as soon as that bloody war ended. They had enough in savings left to purchase a small cottage in Helsinki and never have to deal with Dark Lords and pushy governments officials ever again. But Draco couldn't let himself run away like that. He had made some wrong decisions, that was infinitely true. And yet, he had been thrown into his parent's war, immersed in a twisted doctrine since birth. Now that the battles had ended he could change. He would change. Plus he was much too proud to let Potter gain that one last victory over him—his own country.

The problem with that is that it had been two years now and still nobody would let him change. In the world's eyes he was still a "despised criminal who would take any opportunity to exploit the weaknesses of innocent people". No really. That was an actual quote from the Daily Prophet last week.

And that is why Draco was done. And so he decided that if the wizarding world didn't want him, he would be someone else. With that decision made Draco furiously went to work brewing the several types of potions he would need.

* * *

The next day found Draco with bags under his eyes, but also with a plethora of multi-colored potions lined up in front of him. He was good at what he did. That wasn't bragging, it was just a fact. Having Severus Snape as your godfather turned teacher allowed him to learn from a young age from one of the greatest potion master who ever lived. Not only that, he practiced and spent long days memorizing plant names. They say it takes ten thousand hours to master a skill. Well, Draco had done the math and he had put 10,412 hours into potion making. It was worth all the effort.

It was all quite simple really. If you knew the properties of each ingredients and how they reacted with each other it became like a game. Experimenting until you got the perfect product. Unfortunately sometimes it took several tries and the outcomes were not always the most pleasant. The amount of times Draco had made his nose grow twice its size or had all of the hair on his body mysteriously vanish were too many to count. But that was half the fun! And he was good enough to eventually turn himself back into his charming self.

So with that in mind he had decided that changing his appearance might be exactly what he needed. He had crafted these specific potions to alter his face in a way that nobody would recognize. Dark brunette hair instead of striking blonde. Storm blue eyes instead of molten silver. Tan complexion with a splattering of freckles across the nose instead of fair skin that seemed to never see daylight no matter how long he spent outside. Another potion softened his sharp, aristocratic features and yet another to alter his drawl into something deeper.

The deception was perfect. It wouldn't last forever of course. It would eventually fade after about twelve hours or so of use, but the ingredients were fairly cheap and Draco was confident that he could become his new person for as long as he should desire.

He contemplated using Polyjuice potion. It would certainly be easier brewing just one potion instead of several at a time. But it took quite a while to make. Also it tasted just plain disgusting. Draco instead made his potions to taste like cinnamon, which wasn't his favorite taste in the world but the potions reacted badly when he tried to add mint flavoring. Very badly. Draco shivered at remembering the bad case of oozing warts that had popped up. That was something he never wanted to experience again.

Everything was almost ready. He even had paid a hefty sum (from the money he had left over) to have documents forged for his new persona. From now on he would be known as Damion Mathews, English of birth but sent away to France for school. Newly graduated from the top French university with an emphasis in Potions. All the details had been accounted for down to the signature of the French headmaster as well as several "references" set up (in the forms of his loyal house elves) that would sing his praises if anyone bothered to owl them.

Draco would prove himself to the world that had shunned him. He would gain the respect of his peers and become the best in his chosen field. He would become everything he knew he could. If he had to wear a mask to be able to achieve all that oh well. He was placed in Slytherin for a reason you know.

With his new face he had applied to a position in the largest private potion company of England and tomorrow he had an interview with the CEO. Draco was excited. He hadn't felt this way in months, maybe years. This was going to change everything for him. And with that Draco grinned and went to take a nap.

* * *

A.N. Please let me know what you think! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Masks We Wear**

Chapter 2

* * *

"She had blue skin,  
And so did he.  
He kept it hid  
And so did she.  
They searched for blue  
Their whole life through,  
Then passed right by-  
And never knew."  
― **Shel Silverstein** , **Every Thing on It**

* * *

"Harry?"

Harry blinked groggily up from his nutritious kale omelet that Ginny had made for him this morning and quirked an eyebrow at his perky friend across the table. How anyone could be this bright at the time in the morning was beyond him. He loved his wife deeply, but the months before the Quidditch season started often consisted of their fridge and cupboards being stocked to the brim with vegetables he didn't even know existed. This, of course, left no room for his beloved, sugary Lucky Charms. It really showed how much he cared for her that he willingly gave up lucidness in the mornings.

"Harry, how do you do it?"

Again the eyebrow went up inquiringly. By this stage of their friendship he could swear that Hermione could read his mind. Why bother using his limited brain capacity to even try forming logical sentences? It was much more simple to communicate in facial expressions.

Hermione continued, perfectly understanding what he wanted to say. "The looks Harry! The staring and the whispered conversations as you walk by! How on earth have you endured this for ten years! It hasn't even been three years since the battle of Hogwarts and I am going to go batty if even one more person asks for an autograph! Why can't everyone just move on? I did what any decent person would have done in my place and that certainly doesn't deserve being placed on a gold plated pedestal and worshipped!" Hermione was now standing and her frizzy hair had escaped the confines of her braid giving her the look of someone who just touched a staticky balloon. "Not me anyway… I don't deserve that praise when so many good men and women gave their lives and now lay forgotten." Hermione lowered her eyes while tears formed and threatened to fall.

Harry sighed. It looked like he had to talk anyway. He stood slowly, approaching Hermione slowly as if she was one of his cares where he worked at the newly opened orphanage.

There had been a lot of talk of the Golden Trio entering into the Auror force and continuing on their legacy as soldiers fighting for the light, but Hermione had sat Harry and Ron down in front of a book full of careers in the magical world and had given homework. He wasn't even kidding! They had to write a three page paper and everything! Hermione was scary when she went into teacher mode. But he was very grateful for her bossiness when he eventually realized that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with fighting or government politics. He had enough of all that thank you very much. No job in specific stood out, but his therapist had suggested serving others to help with his depression and that idea had snowballed. What started out small now was a series of charities that helped thousands of people all over Europe who were effected by the war. Eventually he gave the reins of the entire endeavor to a board of carefully selected witches and wizards, but the orphanage that he helped gain funding for was a special project that had worked its way into Harry's heart. Now he worked there full time. Not as the manager for goodness sakes. He was only twenty and still knew nothing of taxes let alone proper child care, but he was good at making the little ones smile and making huge bowls of jello, so they kept him around. In fact, Andromeda was elected to run the small establishment, and she did so with a grace and patience that awed Harry every day.

Working at the orphanage satisfied something in Harry that he had never felt before. He didn't quite understand it until his therapist quietly pointed out the parallels to his own life. Orphaned by war, Harry could see himself in each of the small children that walked those halls. After a good cry in the bathroom, Harry looked himself in the mirror and swore that each of those precious souls would be loved and cared for.

Harry crept forward, careful not to startle Hermione (if she knew he was comparing her to a spooked animal in his thoughts he would surely be cursed without a moments thought). He placed his hands softly on her shoulders and pushed her chin up so that she was looking at him.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Harry said solemnly so that his stubborn friend would stop her rant and focus solely on what he was about to say. "I have said this before and I doubt that this is the last time I will be saying this, but it bears repeating. Before I answer your question you need to understand something. You are incredible, strong, and wise. _No one_ could have done what you did with such love and passion. I can never thank you enough for saving my life countless times and more importantly saving my sanity and humanness. You stayed with me even when your parents were across the globe and we were starving in a tent in the middle of nowhere. I love you. I hope you know that. You deserve every admiration that the world gives you."

Harry took a big breath while Hermione stood there gaping. He continued, "Now back to the question. How do I do it? Honestly I try my hardest to stay out of the limelight. A quick spell to change your hair color goes a long way. I try to spend time with those who don't treat me like a god and let me be simple Harry. The slightly quirky guy who is addicted to Bertie Bots Beans and sometimes makes mistakes. But when I do get caught I try to view it from their perspective. The people have made us into symbols of the end of a cruel world that threatened their homes and families. If meeting me makes them happy, which I still do not entirely understand by the way, then that makes me happy."

Harry gave her one last long stare and then grinned brightly at his childhood friend. She slowly smiled in return and then whispered a soft thank you before pulling him into a tight hug.

Suddenly he was flung away from her and he could see her eyes visibly change to become maniacal as an idea hit her. Harry cringed and backed away. Uh oh. Hermione's ideas always lead to them escaping sure death during those school years, but nowadays when their lives where more or less normal, her crazy schemes often led to… well, it was hard to describe the pure chaos that could consume their lives in the event of Hermione's plans. Just last month had found them all stranded in Ireland with nothing but two hundred knitted left handed gloves. You really don't want to ask.

Hermione lunged forward and pecked Harry's cheek. "Harry! You're a genius!" With that she whisked out of the room and out the door, calling over her shoulder that she had errands to do.

Now totally awake Harry sighed deeply again. He walked over to the drawer and pulled out a small scrap of paper and jotted two small notes, one to Ginny and another to Ron each with a simple line of script.

 _She's at it again. Proceed with caution._

They would understand.

Harry whistled softly and through the open kitchen window flew a small barn owl which perched neatly on the edge of the counter. He handed the small bird a small treat and then gave him the papers.

He needed to warn his friend and wife of the oncoming storm named Hermione Granger.

* * *

Hermione flew down the street toward the apparating point down the street. Something Harry had said gave her the most brilliant idea. He mentioned changing his hair color to avoid detection. But why did it have to stop there! She was Hermione Granger for goodness sakes! The brightest witch of her age! She could escape the uncomfortableness of her fame and the free pass on life that everyone had decided to give her. She knew that if she walked in the ministry today that they would give her any position that she asked for, and she was not at all comfortable with that. She wanted to earn any respect given to her by her own merits and she was sick and tired of feeling like the blood on her hands and ghosts in her past were more important than her hard work and intelligence. She would flourish with her own merits, if people could only look beyond the perfect image they seemed to have of her.

And with that Hermione knew exactly what she would do. She would become someone else. Not forever perhaps, and definitely not to her close friends and family, but to the wizarding world she would be someone else. A clean slate.

It was all so simple when Hermione thought about it! She was so excited she couldn't contain a happy little twirl as she thought of what she could do next. There were sure to be books about changing your appearance in Flourish & Botts. She wouldn't want to do anything major of course. Maybe darkening her hair slightly and making it more wavy instead of the crazy curls that currently adorned her head. A simple spell would alter her features enough to make her unrecognizable.

She was still sorting through the many ideas that were currently whizzing through her head right now, but a hesitant outline was being formed. She had become dear friends with a sweet girl named McKenzie Waters who currently worked a receptionist for the largest Potions company in England. She had informed Hermione of an incredible internship opportunity in the company, but Hermione balked when she learned that the CEO was a close friend of Kingsley Shacklebot. Hermione loathed receiving anything based solely on her name. Now that she would have a new face she had the possibility of being turned down, and that was the most exhilarating thought of all!

By tomorrow she would be ready.

* * *

A.N. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**The Masks We Wear**

Chapter 3

* * *

 _"Something happens to people when they're masked. They become too free, uncivilized. They may do anything."_  
 _― Alexandra Ripley, New Orleans Legacy_

* * *

Hermione gazed thoughtfully at the young man in front of her. His straight back and piercing look reminded her of something but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out. He seemed like a good man. They had made small talk as they waited outside the office of the HR representative, but Hermione was too nervous to really devote herself to a conversation so it quickly lapsed into silence.

These feelings of competition and doubt were nerve-wracking, but oh were they exhilarating. This is what Hermione lived for! After thinking back on it, she decided that she hadn't felt like this since her sixth year of Hogwarts. That was about four years ago! And even then most of her concentration had been focused on the war looming on the horizon and how to best help Harry. Ever since the end of the war everything had been given to her on a silver platter.

The interview went well. Mr. Garrison didn't seem to recognize her at all. Hermione thanked the stars for George's new line of WonderWitch products. After a day of frantic researching Hermione decided that there wasn't a spell or potion out there that was specifically what she was looking for. Therefore she decided to owl the one person that she knew could create anything. He seemed excited to help her and they got together and whipped out simple potions that would allow you to change your appearance in any way you desired. The success they felt only magnified when George bottled it up and it practically flew off the shelves. Hermione of course got a decent percentage as thanks for her idea and help.

George was doing well. It took awhile to recover, but what seemed to help most was throwing himself into his store. The entire family rallied behind him, especially Ron, and now the business was doing better than ever. In fact, they had just announced that Weaselys' Wizard Wheezes would be expanding and a new store front was planned to be finished in Hogsmede this Fall. Right in time for all those pranksters out there to be stocked up for the school year.

Ron would be the manager for the new store and this was just one of the many examples of how Ron had grown in maturity these last few years. Hermione and he had tried dating after the many years of "will they, won't they" in school. They both came to the realization that they loved each other more like siblings than anything else. Just last month Ron asked Luna out, and while people looked on unconvinced at first, it now seemed like a perfect match. It was a pretty new relationship, but Molly was already making wedding swatches.

Some people had approached Hermione with sympathy, but she easily brushed them off. She was very happy for her two best friends that now had significant others to love them unconditionally. She was still very young and she had no doubts that her prince charming was out there somewhere. She was in no rush.

* * *

Draco was in a hurry. He had woken up that morning with the exact amount a time he needed to get ready and arrive at his new internship ten minutes early. Unfortunately he didn't factor in a floo call from his mother. Even she did not know of what he had decided to do, and he planned to keep it that way. His mother was a sweet woman with a backbone of steel, but her gossiping circles were legendary so it seemed prudent to keep this secret to himself.

"Draco darling!" she called. Narcissa's hair was pulled tightly back into an immaculate french braid and her eyes sparkled with a happiness that Draco hadn't seen since he was very young. The war had taken a hard toll on her, but the many worries and fears she had carried on her poised shoulders had seemed to fall off when they left the country two years ago. Draco was happy for her, he truly was, but with the change in demeanor she had also had started to cling to him even more and Draco was feeling a little claustrophobic.

Because he had already taken the potions when the bell rang announcing her presence in his fireplace, Draco had to dart out of the front room and duck into the kitchen to not give up his ruse. He did some light fibbing and managed to convince his mom to visit later.

All of this managed to put Draco a bit behind schedule, but he still managed to arrive at the large building a respectable five minutes early. The front receptionist kindly smiled at him when he arrived and told him to report to level 4 room 5b where he would start his time here in the company. The paid internship he had been accepted to was a yearlong program and often led to a permanent job within the company. The woman that interviewed him a couple days ago explained that they would choose two people for this opportunity and those interns would spend time with each of the departments in charge of different stages of preparing and managing the potions. He would work with those that gathered the ingredients first and slowly make his way around the company to get a small taste of all the careers in potion making.

Draco already had set his heart on working with the inventing team. This was an elite group in the company and only included the best of the best, but Draco was confident that one day he would be able to hold that title.

Draco found the marked door and walked in to find a small room with an oval table placed in the middle. Sitting at the table was the witch he had talked to briefly the other day. He thought she introduced herself as Jean. Yes, Jean Bennet. She was nice and very pretty he noticed now that he gave her a second glance. When she introduced herself to him when they first met it seemed to Draco that she wanted to make friends with him. That was all well and good but Draco was hesitant to grow close to anyone. He was keeping everything very close to his chest and was constantly on guard of accidently slipping up and giving away his game. He didn't need friends anyway. He had been alone for a long time, and he was used to it.

Resolved to be polite yet distant gave his new colleague a small nod and sat down across the table. She smiled brightly at him, her bright eyes framed with dark lashes and Draco was struck again with how beautiful this young witch was.

Maybe staying distant would be harder than he thought.

* * *

A.N. Hermione decided to use the name Jean Bennet as her secret identity. Jean is her middle name and Bennet is the last name of her favorite book character.


End file.
